A federal judge in San Francisco denies the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft from completing acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
A federal judge in San Francisco has denied the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft from completing acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard.
The deal isn’t completely in the clear, though. The FTC can now file its appeal of the decision to federal appellate court, and the two companies must find a way forward to resolve opposition from the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom. “This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action,” Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley wrote in, published on Tuesday. “For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger in this specific industry may substantially lessen competition.
Activision Blizzard shares reached a session high of $88.03 per share after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued the decision. Microsoft had agreed to buy the game publisher for $95 per share. “Our merger will benefit consumers and workers. It will enable competition rather than allow entrenched market leaders to continue to dominate our rapidly growing industry,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement.“We’re grateful to the court in San Francisco for this quick and thorough decision and hope other jurisdictions will continue working towards a timely resolution,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and vice chair, said in a statement.
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